Nhl

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Glen Sather watched the New York Rangers' first day of training camp - unusual for a John Tortorella opener because pucks were on the ice and no endurance skating tests were given - a busy Sunday morning already behind him.

With the NHL lockout officially ending late Saturday night as the league and NHL Players Association agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the general manager signed restricted free agent defenseman Michael Del Zotto, 22, to a two-year deal worth an average of $2.55 million annually. He also agreed to a one-year, $650,000 deal with defenseman Matt Gilroy, back with the Rangers after splitting last season with the Lightning and Senators.

"I probably could have signed (Del Zotto) to a longer term deal but we wanted to make sure he proves himself before we get into a longer-term deal," Sather told The Record.

Despite center Brad Richards absence from the first day of training camp due to flu symptoms, expectations are high for the Rangers after finishing first in the East last season and reaching the conference final.

The Rangers open their 48-game season Sunday at Boston.

"To be the best they can be, that's it," Sather said when asked about the elevated expectations - the Rangers are considered one of the Stanley Cup favorites. "You can put pressure on teams by saying you expect them to do this and do that but, the reality is, there's so many unknowns when you go into a season. You expect a team to be healthy but who knows what you're going to get.

"I knew it was eventually going to happen," Sather added of the shortened season. "I'm a little disappointed that Brad has got flu symptoms today but I don't think it's that serious so he'll be fine. We're healthy. We've got no injuries."

The Rangers opened training camp with just 22 players after Del Zotto and Gilroy signed.

"Cut right to the chase," Sather said. "The guys in (Connecticut (AHL)) have been playing all along so there's no question about them being out of condition if we had to bring somebody in." - Sather said he and Del Zotto's agent, Don Meehan, agreed to a deal Sunday morning after a three-hour discussion the previous night. Del Zotto, the 20th overall pick in the 2008 draft, is coming off a three-year, entry level deal worth $2.625 million after scoring 10 goals with 31 assists in 77 games last season.

Del Zotto was reportedly seeking approximately $3 million annually in a multi-year deal.

"Well, the gap contracts are what they are, guys really don't have a lot of options," Sather said, referring to deals signed between entry-level contracts and a players first chance for unrestricted free agency. "We made him a good offer. It wasn't something where we gave him a small offer and came back with a little bit bigger one. We cut to the chase."

Del Zotto said it was important to him to sign a deal allowing him to start training camp on time.

"That was the ultimate goal," Del Zotto said. "I wanted to be part of it. I didn't want to miss any more time than we have already. It worked out well, we had a great skate today and I'm excited to be back."

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